Protestors stormed the site of Cuadrilla’s shale gas drilling site in Blackpool and attached themselves to the machinery in the early hours of the morning yesterday.

The incident pulls Cuadrilla into the media focus once again, after tremors in the surrounding area earlier this year sparked unease over the environmental effects of the hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” process used to extract shale gas.

Five protestors pulled up to the security gate in a van around 5.30am yesterday and forced entry, assaulting one of Cuadrilla’s security guards in the process, said Mark Miller, CEO of the company.

Some of them climbed up a rig on the site and erected a banner, according to Lancashire Police, who were called to the site. The police force remained on the site and arrested a 60 year old woman from Liverpool on suspicion of aggravated trespass.

The shale gas chief said it was a shame the protestors forced their way onto the site to carry out a potentially dangerous occupation because Cuadrilla has an “open door policy”.

Mr Miller told ELN: “If they had some tough questions they wanted to ask, we’d have been happy to talk to them. But instead they’ve put themselves and the people on site at risk.”